Fastening-distributing device



July 14, 1936. J. c. JORGENSEN FASTENING DISTRIBUTING DEVICE Filed Jan. 7, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 July 14, 1936. J. c. JORGENSEN FASTENING DISTRIBUTING DEVICE Fil ed Jan. 7, 1955 5 Sheet-Sheet s Patented July 14, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FASTENING-DISTRIBUTING DEVICE Application January '7, 1935, Serial No. 592

21 Claims.

This invention relatesto mechanism for supplying and distributing fastenings and is herein illustrated as embodied in mechanism of the type disclosed, for example, in Letters Patent of the United States No. 1,002,422, granted September 5, 1911, upon an application of R. F. McFeely, such mechanism being designed particularly for use in machines for pulling'over or lasting shoes. It is to be understood, however, that the inven- 10 tion may have application to other types of mechanism employed for supplying and/or driving fastenings.

Mechanisms of the type referred to above are provided with raceways for fastenings from which the latter are removed by a separator device and deposited in chutes, one of which is as sociated with each raceway and which deliver the fastenings to the localities where they are to be used or driven. The separator device, as usually constructed in a mechanism of the type in question, includes an end block opposite to the ends of the raceways, a separator plate for removing fastenings one at a time from each raceway and depositing them in chutes leading from the end block, and guide plates arranged normally to overlap the ends of therac'eways and which, with the end block, form a slideway for the separator plate. tenings in raceways of the type in question, such as would occur if the fastenings crowded one another upwardly out of the raceways, they commonly have been provided with a cover which extends substantially continuously over the junctions between the raceways and the entrances to the chutes, thereby toinsure uninterrupted heightwise control'of the fastenings as they pass this locality and until they drop into the chutes. Although this cover, when in its closed position, completely obscures to an observer the supply of 49 fastenings, inspection of the fastenings at the junctions of the raceways and chutes is rendered possible by forming the cover referred to above in two sections, one of which can be moved upwardly away from the fastenings so as to allow 45 an unobstructed view of the chute entrances and such portions of the lower ends of the raceways adjacent to the separator device as it is usually desirable to inspect.

While it occasionally happens that the raceways or chutes become so clogged as to prevent the passage of fastenings, such trouble more frequently occurs, if at all, in the separator device, and to facilitate clearing an obstruction in it the end block which carries the guide plates is fitted to the machine so as to be readily detach- To avoid jamming of fas-' able therefrom without interfering with the separator plate. In case it is attempted to replace the end block, however, the fastenings occupying the portions of the raceways normally overlapped by the guide plates may become wedged between the guide plates and the raceways and cause considerable loss of time and fasten-ings and annoyance to the operator. It is apparent, moreover, that if it becomes necessary to remove the separator plate as well as the end block, the fastenings will slide out of any unobstructed raceways unless provision is made for preventing them from doing so.

Accordingly, a general object of the invention is to provide improved means for closing the 15 raceways, with the above considerations in View, the use of which means. facilitates clearing a. jammed condition in the raceways or elsewhere and obviates any interference with the replace ment of the end block if it has been necessary to remove it.

To this end, the invention contemplates, in a machine of the type in question having a cover of the type referred to above and a plurality of raceways, means for closing the raceways, which means is constructed and arranged to retract fastenings from both the portions of the guide plates which overlap the raceways and also the portions of the raceways below the movable cover, which is. mounted for movement independently of the raceway-closing means toward and away from the raceways. Thus, it may be possible to cure an easily corrected jammed; condition of fastenings in the raceways by operating the racewayclosing means to retract the fastenings in the raceways without raising the cover. Yet, if necessary, it is possible also to raise the, cover to obtain access to the lower ends of the raceways and also to remove the end block without either 40 disturbing the jammed condition of fastenings which it is desired to detect and clear, or' allowing the fastenings to slide out of the raceways. Moreover, to insure that the fastenings will not become crowded or jammed in the raceways as v they are retracted, and that such opening of the movable cover as is necessary to afford access to the ends of the raceways will not cause any fastenings in the raceways to be uncovered, the fastenings are retracted up the raceways, while the movable portion of the cover is in its closed position, beyond the division between the movable and fixed portions of the cover. It will. now be apparent that as the fastenings in their retracted positions are removed from the portions of the raceways normally overlapped by the guide plates, the fastenings cannot obstruct to the slighest degree the replacement of the end block.

Conveniently and as herein illustrated, the cover and raceway-closing means are mounted for movement relatively to each other toward and away from the raceways in the same direction; and their operation in this manner is assured by mounting them, for example, to swing about a common axis.

Other features of the invention reside in the provision of connections between the movable por tion of the raceway cover and the raceway-closing means whereby they may be locked together to insure that the raceway-closing means will be moved away from the raceways when the cover is lifted, the connections also being movable into another position to lock the raceway-closing means in its operative position and yet allow the cover to be moved freely up and down. Thus, in case the passage of fastenings in a raceway is obstructed, the movable portion of the raceway cover and the raceway-closing means can first be moved away from the raceways together to permit discovery of the jammed raceway. If re moval of the separator device then appears to be necessary, the cover will be closed and the raceway-closing means moved into its operative position, thereby to retract the fastenings from the chutes to the portions of the raceways under the fixed part of the raceway cover. The movable part of the cover can then be raised again independently of the raceway-closing device to allow the removal of the separator device without any danger that fastenings will slide out of the raceways.

The different features of the invention, includ ing various novel details of construction and combinations of parts, will now be more particularly described by reference to the accompanying drawings and pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a fasteningdistributing mechanism constructed in accordance with the present invention, the movable raceway cover being lifted to afford a view of the lower ends of the raceways and a part of the structure being broken away;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view similar to Fig. 1 but with the fastenings illustrated as retracted from the uncovered portions of the raceways;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section in a plane indicated by the line IIIIII in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a vertical section similar to Fig. 3 but taken in a plane indicated by the line IV--IV of Fig. 2 and illustrating the relation of the fastenings, raceway-closing means, and cover, when the fastenings are in their retracted positions;

Fig. 5 shows the fastening-distributing mechanism as viewed in a direction substantially perpendicular to the plane of the raceways, portions of the structure being broken away;

Fig. 6 is a vertical section taken along the line VI-VI of Fig. 5;

Fig, '7 is a perspective view of disassembled parts of the knob for operating the raceway-closing means; and

Fig. 8 is a perspective View of the knob and adjacent portions of the mechanism with which it cooperates in the performance of its locking functions.

To facilitate an understanding of the application of this invention to mechanisms of the type in question, brief reference will now be made to their general characteristics, a more complete disclosure of which is found in the Letters Patent referred to above to which reference may be made for a description of features which it is unnecessary to describe in connection with this invention. Conveniently, and as herein illustrated, the fastening-distributing device forming the subjectmatter of the invention is contructed and arranged to conduct fastenings, such for example as tacks t, from a hopper l0 into a plurality of 10 chutes l 2, the chutes and hopper being connected by tack-receiving ra'ceways I l in which the tacks t,

supported by their heads, arrange themselves in rows as indicated in Figs. 1 and 3. A single tack is separated from the row in each raceway and 1 deposited in the respective chute l2, in a manner which is well understood by those skilled in this art, by a separator device l6, this device comprising an end block I8 mounted in front of the lower ends of the raceways and which serves, in part, as a guide for a separator plate 28 which is detachably fastened at its ends to a slide 2| mounted to reciprocate widthwise of the mechanism in a support 23 for the raceways. Operation of the separator plate 20 causes the endmost 25 tacks in the raceways to be deposited in grooves 22 in the end block I 8. The grooves, being continuations of the chutes [2, are to be understood as included by the term chutes. Secured to the end block l8 are plates 24 which overlap the separator plate 20, and to some extent the lower ends of the raceways I 4, portions of these plates being reduced in thickness and provided with slots in line with the raceway slots, as indicated at 26 (Figs. 1 and 2) to receive the tacks and provide supporting surfaces for the tack heads at the junctions between the lower ends of the raceways and the upper ends of the chutes.

The separator plate 20 has formed therein a series of kerfs 28, the inner ends of which are directly over the chutes l2 when the plate 2!] is in its normal position. When the separator plate is moved to the left (Fig. 1) so as to bring the open ends of the kerfs 28 into alinernent with rows of tacks in the raceways M, the endmost tack 45 of each row will slide into the respective kerf 28 until an edge 30 of the separator plate, which normally prevents movement of the tacks out of the raceway, if produced, would extend midway between the shanks of the endmost and next to the endmost tacks in the raceway. The subsequent return of the separator plate 2!) to its normal position then causes the endmost tacks in the raceways to be conducted through the kerfs 28 downwardly in the raceways and dropped into the chutes l2. It will now be apparent that if, as a result of the tacks being crowded against each other or for any other reason, the two lower tacks rise in any one of the raceways (as happen when dealing with small tacks, their shanks may become crossed or otherwise misalined so as to allow both tacks to enter or partially to enter the opening of the kerf 28 when the separator plate 20 is operated. In such a case the separator plate may become jammed; but 65 view of the foregoing, it is apparent that it is 70 important that the tacks be prevented from rising in the raceways and at the junctions between the raceways and the chutes.

To prevent the tacks from rising in the raceways in the manner referred to above, there is mounted over the raceways a movable cover 32 and a fixed cover 34. The lower surface of the cover 32, when in its closed position, covers the entrances to the chutes I2 at the junctions be.- tween the raceways I4 and the chutes; but the cover 32 may be displaced away from the raceways and chutes to afford an unobstructed view thereof and access thereto. whenever it becomes necessary to discover and clear'a clogged raceway or chute. The cover 32 is carried by a yoke member 35 mounted to rotate on bushings 36, 38, (Fig. 5) the bushings connecting lugs 40 and 42, extending from the cover 34 and yoke 35 respectively, in such a position that the lower surface of the cover 32, when the latter is in its closed position,

is substantially continuous with the lower surface of the cover 34, thereby obviating any shoulder against which the heads of the tacks might become wedged if they were to rise in contact with the cover in passing to the separator device. it is to be noted, moreover, that the cover 32 extends farther up the raceways than the guide plates 24 and thus it presents a substantially continuous surface to the heads of tacks from above the locality where the guide plates 24 overlap the raceways to the chute entrances. Hence, any possibility of tack heads being caught'against the raceway cover in passing onto the guide plates 24 is avoided. A set screw 44 threaded in the yoke member 35 and arranged to abut against the upper surface of one of the plates 24 serves adjustably to determine the closed position .of the cover 32. The cover 34 is provided with a bore extending transversely of the raceways adapted to receive an electric resistance heating unit 46 for heating the covers and the raceways and thereby driving off any moisture from tacks which might prevent them from sliding freely in the raceways.

While a cover constructed and arranged as described above minimizes the possibility of tacks becoming jammed during their passage to the chutes l2, such jamming may possibly occur owing to circumstances beyond the control of the operator such, for example, as the presence of abnormally shaped tacks. In such a case it is usually necessary to have access to the ends of the raceways and chutes contiguous to the separator device I6 and also to remove the end block to facilitate clearing an obstruction in it. Accordingly, the end block I8 is mounted so that it may be readily removed from the raceway support 23, thus allowing the operator to insert a wire or other probing instrument into the chutes l2 and raceways l4. To permit such removal of the end block l8 it is provided at each end with a springcontrolled plunger 48 which normally projects into a hole 50 in the raceway support 23, but which may be retracted from the hole 59. This operation of the plungers 48 is facilitated by studs 52 which are adapted to be gripped by the operator and are threaded into the plungers and extend through elongated slots 53 in the end block l8 so as to allow limited endwise movement of the plungers.

It will be evident that if, for the purpose of clearing an obstruction, the separator plate 29 is removed, the tacks will escape from any unobstructed raceway unless means are provided for preventing them from doing so. Moreover, it is difficult, as pointed out above, to replace the end block, once it has been removed, unless the tacks are retracted from the portions of the raceways l4 overlapped by the guide plates 24. The present invention provides improved means for preventing suchescape of tasks from the raceways l4 in case the entire separator device I5 is removed or for avoiding any interference by the. tacks with the'replacement of the end block it. For the purpose in view there are provided in the illustrated construction-a plurality of fingers 54 mounted for movement together into the paths of the tacks t in the raceways I4, this movement being in a direction havinga component extending lengthwise of the raceways away from the separator plate 23 so as to cause the tacks to be retracted away from the separator plate. The fingers 54 are fixedly mounted in spaced relation on a shaft 56 which is. freely rotatable in the bushings 36, 3B, the fingers 54 being held apart by'spacing washers 58 at such a distance as to be in ali-nement with the raceways l4. Unobstructed movement of the fingers toward and away from the raceways l4 regardless of the position of the cover 32 is permitted by slots 60 in the cover 32 positioned in register with the fingers 54, it beii understood that the slots 60 are too narrow to allow the heads of tacks, when the cover is in its closed position, to rise above the plane of its lower surface. Similar slots 6| are provided, in register with the fingers 54, in a portion of the cover 34, which cover overhangs the shaft so as to shield the separator device from tacks falling accidentally from the hopper l0 when it is filled.

The operator, upon discovering that tacks are not passing through one or more of the chutes when the separator is operated, or .upon jamming of the separator itself, will normally swing thev yoke 35 upwardly to move the cover 32 into position to expose the lower ends of the raceways. The cover is yieldingly maintained in this position and. also in its closed position by a spring-operated detent 62 slidingly mounted in the left-hand lug 40 and arranged to bear against flattened surfaces 64 on one of the hubs of the yoke 35. If it then appears to be necessary to remove the end block 18, the operatorwill lower the yoke 35 to move the cover 32 into its closed position and then, by turning a knob 66 onthe shaft 56, will turn the shaft and thus cause the fingers 54 to be swung through the registering slots 69 in the cover 32 first into engagement with the endmost tacks in the raceways l4 and then tomove the rows of tacks in the raceways bodily away from the separator device [6 until those tacks normally lying under the cover section 32 have been retracted to the portion of the raceways l4 under the cover 34, as will be evident by a comparison of Figs. 3 and 4. By thus retracting the tacks with the cover 32 in its closed position, there is no possibility of the tacks rising in the raceways and hence becoming jammed as a result of their retraction and yet, when the cover 32 is again raised to afford access to the separator plate and the junction between the raceways and chutes, no tacks in the raceways lack any support over their heads for preventing them from rising. Provision is made for holding the fingers in their operative position, by locking against rotation the knob 66, which can slide on the shaft 55 but is prevented from rotating with respect to the shaft. The knob 66 is bored to receive the shaft 56 and has attached thereto, by means of screws 68 and splined connections 10, a plate 12 having a flat- ,tened surface 14 which cooperates with a similar flattened surface 16 (Figs. 3 and 4) on the shaft 56 to prevent relative rotation between the knob and the shaft but yet to allow axial movement of the knob on the shaft. The plate 12 is provided with a. key 18 which is adapted to be received either in a slot 86 in the'left-hand lug .42 of the yoke 35 (Fig. 5) in order to cause the fingers 54 and cover 32 to be held in the relation'in which they are illustrated in Fig. 3, or in another slot 82 (Fig. 8) formed in the fixed bushing 38 in such a position as to hold the fingers 54 in their operative positions disconnected from the cover 32, as illustrated in Fig. 4. The knob 66 is yieldingly held in one or the other of its positions referred to above by a spring 84 which abuts against a collar 86 fixed to the shaft 56, the knob 66 being recessed to afford sufiicient clearance space for the collar 86 to permit the key 18 to be withdrawn from the slots 86 and 82.

The knob 66 will normally have its key 18 received in the slot 86 in the yoke 35 so that when the yoke is first lifted in order to afford a view of the ends of the raceways the operators vision will not be obstructed by the fingers 54, which also will have been retracted to their position indicated in Fig. 3. If, after the ends of the raceways have been inspected, it appears to be necessary to remove the end block l8, the yoke 35 is lowered so as to move the cover 32 to its closed position over the fastenings in the lower ends of the raceways. The knob 66 is then moved axially of the shaft 56 to remove the key 18 from the slot 86 and is rotated in a counterclockwise direction (Fig. 4) into its position shown in the latter figure to retract the tacks normally under the cover 32 to the portions of the raceways under the cover 34 preparatory to the removal of the end block, the key 78 entering the slot 82 to lock the fingers 54 in their operative positions. As long as the yoke 35 is in its lower position, a lug 88 which extends from the lower side of the yoke overlies the edge of the end block I8 so as to prevent its removal from the machine until the yoke has again been lifted. The possibility of tacks being allowed accidentally to slide against the separator plate 26 or out of the raceways after the fingers 54 have once been moved into their operative positions and the cover 32 has again been lifted is minimized by connections for locking the knob 66 against axial movement consisting of a pin 96 mounted in the hub of the knob 66 and adapted to be received in a bifurcation in a plate 92 carried by the yoke 35. Thus, when the yoke 35 is raised the pin 90 is received in the bifurcation in the plate 92 to prevent the knob from being moved axially of the shaft 56 and hence to prevent the key 18 from being withdrawn from the slot 82.

To permit the position of the fingers 54 to be adjusted laterally of the raceways and longitudinally thereof with reference to the edge of the separator plate 26 adjacent to the tacks, the cover 34 on which the shaft 56 carrying the fingers is mounted can be clamped against the raceways M in any desired position of adjustment by set screws 94 which are threaded into the base of the hopper l0 and have tapered ends 96 which are received in similarly tapered holes in a plate 98 which can be adjustably fixed to the cover 34 by means of screws I60. The screws I60 are threaded into the cover 34 and pass through clearance holes in the plate 98 so as to allow the cover 34, when the screws I66 are loosened, to be moved longitudinally and laterally of the raceways to an extent sufficient for purposes of adjustment to insure that the fingers 54 will be capable of unobstructed movement into and out of the raceways and will also just clear the edge of the separator plate 26. In positioning the cover 34, the screws 94 and I66 are turned to relieve the pressure between the cover 34 and the raceways l4 so as to allow the cover to be tapped into its desired position referred to above, this movement being allowed by the clearance space between the screws I66 and the sides of the holes in the plate 98. When the desired adjusted position of the cover 34 has been determined, the screws I66 and 94 are tightened and any subsequent removal and replacement of the cover 34 can henceforth be made without necessitating readjustment by merely unscrewing the screws 94, since when these screws are again tightened their ends, in becoming seated in the tapered holes in the plate 98, will precisely re-aline the cover 34 in its original position.

Since different types of shoes may be made by dlfierent shoemaking methods, it may happen that fewer tacks than the number of raceways are required and, accordingly, provision is made in the illustrated machine for closing some of the raceways to the passage of tacks, it being understood that the same means may be employed in as many of the raceways as is necessary to limit the capacity of the tack-distributing mechanism to the desired extent. With this purpose in view, the rear portion of the cover 34 is bored to receive screws I62 the lower ends of which, when the screws are seated, extend below the parts of. the raceways through which the heads of the tacks pass soas to stop the rows of tacks from sliding beyond this point.

The operation of the illustrated embodiment of the invention will be understood from the foregoing, but will now be summarized. As soon as an obstruction to the delivery of tacks to any of the points where they are used or driven occurs, the operator will lift the yoke 35, the key 18 of the knob 66 normally being received in the slot 86 to cause the fingers 54 to be moved with the yoke 35 into their raised positions, as illustrated in Fig. 3, so as to afford an unobstructed View of and access to the lower ends of the raceways and the separator device I6. It is apparent that the raising of the yoke 35 does not alter the condition of the tacks in the raceways, and any obstruction in the latter, if visible at all, can at this point be readily cleared. If, however, the obstruction appears not to be in the raceways but in the separator device or chutes, it may become necessary to remove the end block H3 or both the end block and separator plate 26. Before doing this, the yoke 35 is swung downwardly to move the cover 32 into its closed position as determined by the set screw 44 and the knob 66 is operated to move the fingers 54 through the registering slots 66 in the cover first into engagement with the endmost tacks in the raceways and then into the paths of the tacks, as indicated in Fig. 4, thereby to retract those tacks normally under the cover 32 into the portion of the raceways under the cover 34. It will be observed that during retraction of the tacks none is allowed to be displaced heightwise owing to the proximity of the covers 32 and 34. The fingers 54 are held in their operative positions by the key 18 being seated in the groove 82 in the bushing 38. The yoke 35 is again swung upwardly to its raised position, thereby allowing the end block I8 to be removed and preventing the knob 66 from being accidentally operated so as to move the fingers 54 out of the raceways. It is now possible for the operator to remove the end block I 8 and separator plate 26 without causing the loss of any tacks from the raceways and also to replace the end block without interference which would other- 75 wise be caused by tacks in the portions of the raceways overlapped by the guide plates 24.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A fastening-distributing device having a plurality of fastening delivery chutes, a plurality of raceways for directing fastenings into said chutes, a cover positioned and arranged when in its closed position to prevent fastenings from rising in their passage to the chutes having a surface extending substantially continuously over the junctions between the chutes and raceways, and means operable at the will of the operator for retracting fastenings from the portions of said raceways under said cover while the cover is in its closed position, said cover being mounted for movement with respect to said means away from the raceways toallow access thereto.

2. A fastening-distributing device having a plurality of fastening delivery chutes, a plurality of raceways for directing fastenings into said chutes, a cover disposed over said chutes and raceways having a fixed section and a movable section displaceable away from the raceways to allow access to the junctions between the chute entrances and the raceways, and operator-controlled means mounted and arranged to retract fastenings from the portions of the raceways under said movable cover section to the portions of the raceways under the fixed cover section while the movable cover section is stationary.

3. A fastening-distributing device having a plurality of fastening delivery chutes, a plurality of raceways for directing fastenings into said chutes, means extending substantially continu-'- ously over the chute entrances and raceways at their junctions to prevent the fastenings from rising in their passage to the chutes, and fingers movable into engagement with the endmost fas tenings in said raceways for preventing their movement toward the chutes, said fingers and said means being mounted for movement away from the raceways independently of each other in the same direction. v

4. In a fastening-distributing device having a. plurality of fastening delivery chutes, a plurality of raceways for directing fastenings therein into said chutes, means for preventing said fastenings from rising in their travel to the chutes having surfaces extending substantially continuously over the junctions between the chute entrances and said raceways, said means being mounted for movement toward and away from said raceways,

and means movable into said raceways when said first-mentioned means is in its operative position to retract the fastenings from the portions of the raceways under said first-mentioned means.

5. In a fastening-distributing device having fastening delivery chutes, raceways for directing fastenings therein into said chutes, a cover for preventing fastenings from rising in the raceways during their passage to the chutes, said cover having a surface extending substantially continu- V tenings in the raceways, and a cover for the raceways constructed and arranged .to prevent fastenings from rising in the raceways but displaceable with respect to said means away from the raceways, said cover and means being mounted to move independently of each other in the same directions toward and away from the raceways.

'7. In a fastening-distributing device, a plurality of raceways, means for preventing fastenings in 10' said raceways from rising therein, said means being mounted for 'movement away from said raceways to allow access thereto, and means operable at the will of the operator to prevent the movement of fastenings in the raceways, said 5' last-mentioned means and said first-mentioned means being mounted to swing independently of each other about a common axis.

8. In a fastening-distributing device, a plurality of raceways, means for preventing fastenings in said raceways from rising therein having a section mounted for movement away from a normal position over the ends of the raceways to allow an unobstructed View thereof, and means movable into engagement with the endmost fastenings in said raceways while said movable section is in its said normal position for retracting the fastenings'from portions of the raceways under said movable section. V

9. In a fastening-distributing device, a plurality of raceways, a cover for the raceways having a section movable relatively to another section away from the raceways to afford access thereto, and means cooperating with said movable cover section when the latter is in its closed position 3 for retracting the fastenings normally under said movable section to the portions of the raceways under the adjacent section of the cover. a

10. In a fastening-distributing device, a pm rality of raceways, a cover for the raceways hav- 40 ing a section movable relatively to another section awayfrom the raceways toafford access thereto, means for retracting the iastenings in said raceways normally under said movable section of the cover to theportions of the raceways under the 45 adjacent section of the cover, and connections between said fastening-retracting means and said movable cover section for causing the former to be moved with the latter toward and away from the raceways, said connections being movable into another position to lock the fastening-retracting means in operative position. V 11. In a fastening-distributing device, a plurality of raceways, a cover for the raceways hav-' ing a section movable relatively to another section 5 away from the raceways, means for retracting the fastenings in said raceways normally under said movable section of the cover to the portions of the raceways under the adjacent section of the cover, connections for holding the fasteningretracting means in its operative position, and means rendered operative when the movable cover section is in its open position to lock the said connections to prevent movement of said fastening-retracting means while the movable raceways, and means operable at the will ofthe operator for connecting said cover and racewayclosing means so that movement of the cover toward and away from the raceways is imparted to the raceway-closing means.

13. A fastening-distributing device having raceways, a cover arranged normally to prevent fastenings in the raceways from rising therein, said cover being displaceable away from the raceways to afford access thereto, raceway-closing means mounted for movement into the paths of the fastening in said raceways, said cover and racewayclosing means being mounted to swing independently of each other toward and away from the raceways, and connections between said cover and raceway-closing means arranged when in one position to prevent relative movement therebetween, said connections being movable into another position to lock the raceway-closing means in its operative position and to hold said means in that position when the cover is moved.

14. A fastening-distributing device having raceways, fingers mounted for movement into the paths of fastenings in said raceways, means operable at the will' of the operator for holding said fingers in their operative positions to prevent passage of fastenings in the raceways, and a cover over said raceways mounted for movement toward and away therefrom independently of said fingers, said cover being slotted to receive said fingers and thus to permit unobstructed relative movement between the fingers and the cover.

15. A fastening-distributing device having a raceway, a member normally covering said raceway but displaceable to afford access thereto, and means for preventing the passage of fastenings through the raceway, said means and member each being mounted and arranged to swing relatively to the other toward and away from said raceway about a common axis.

16. A fastening-distributing device having a raceway, means for preventing movement of fastenings through said raceway, and a member normally covering said raceway to prevent the fastenings therein from rising but displaceable independently of said means to afford access to the raceway, said member being slottted to receive said means and thus to permit unobstructed movement of either said means or member with respect to the other.

1'7. A fastening-distributing device having a raceway, means for preventing movement of fastenings in the raceway, and a member arranged normally to cover the raceway to prevent fastenings therein from rising, said member and means being movable independently of each other toward and away from the raceway about a common axis.

18. A fastening-distributing device having a raceway, a finger movable into the path of movement of fastenings through said raceway, a cover arranged normally to prevent fastenings in said raceway from rising but displaceable relatively to said finger away from said raceway to afford access thereto, said finger and cover being arranged to swing about a common axis, and means associated with said finger for connecting the latter to the cover so that the finger is moved away from said raceway when the cover is lifted.

19. A fastening-distributing device having a raceway, a finger movable into the path of movement of fastenings through the raceway, and means normally covering said raceway to prevent fastenings therein from rising but displaceable independently of said finger to afford access to the raceway, said means being slotted to receive said finger and thus to permit unobstructed movement of either the finger or raceway-covering means with respect to the other.

20. A fastening-distributing device having a raceway, a finger movable into the path of movement of the fastenings in said raceway to prevent the passage of fastenings through it, a cover disposed normally over said raceway so as to prevent fastenings therein from rising, said finger and cover being mounted for movement independently of each other toward and away from the raceway, and means operable at the will of the operator to hold said finger in its operative position, said means being movable into a different position to release said finger but to cause it to be moved away from the raceway when said cover is displaced therefrom.

21. A fastening-distributing device having a raceway, a cover arranged normally to prevent fastenings in said raceway from rising but displaceable away from said raceway to afford access thereto, raceway-closing means movable at the will of the operator into the path of fastenings in said raceway to prevent the passage of fastenings therein, connections for holding said raceway-closing means in its operative position, and means rendered operative by moving said cover to its open position to lock said connections so as to prevent movement of said raceway-closing means while said cover is in its open position.

JACOB O. JORGENSEN. 

